Introduction: Recently, a personal trainer helped me to
learn and improve my skills. My primary goal was to avoid
doing harm. My trainer’s goal was to teach me to do things
correctly and safely. If I had bad habits, he wanted to fix
them. After Jesus rose from the dead and was celebrated in
Heaven, He returned to earth to give His disciples some
final instruction. Getting those teachings right mattered.
Peter and John are central figures among the disciples and
Peter needs remedial lessons. Let’s return to our last
lesson in John and see how Jesus helps those like us who
need improvement!
I. Fish Fry
A. Read John 21:1-3. Does this surprise you? After
Jesus’ death and resurrection the disciples have
gone back to fishing? (Read Mark 16:7. Jesus
instructed them to return to Galilee. Tiberias was
the capital city of Galilee.)
1. How do you think the disciples felt in the
morning? (Frustrated that they had fished all
night for nothing. This was added to their
overall uncertainty about their future.)
2. Is Peter still a leader among the disciples?
B. Read John 21:4-5. With the disciples attitude in
mind, how do you think they liked being called
“children?” (Robertson’s Word Pictures reports this
is like Jesus saying, “My boys.” And Robertson’s
says only Jesus used that term with His disciples.)
C. Read John 21:6. Why would the disciples take
fishing advice from some guy standing on the shore?
(They did not yet recognize that this was Jesus.
But the term by which Jesus addressed them is one
used by a superior to an inferior. The disciples
might have thought this was some old, wise fellow
who knew a lot about fishing. So they obeyed.)
1. And why would sides of the boat matter? (They
didn’t. What mattered was whether the
disciples were working under the direction of
Jesus or working based on their own talent.)
2. Why do you think the disciples did not
recognize Jesus? (It was dark.)
D. Read John 1:4-5. Is this a “flashback” to the
beginning of John’s gospel?
E. Read John 21:7. Why do you think it was only John
(“the disciple Jesus loved”) who recognized Jesus?
Is it because he is the youngest and has the best
sight? (John has been given two clues to give him
reason to look closely at the stranger. First, he
addresses them as Jesus did. Second, they had a
miraculous catch based on following the stranger’s
advice.)
1. Why was it only Peter who jumped in the water
to swim to shore to greet Jesus?
F. Read John 21:8. Why did the others prefer to land
the fish? (John is writing this account. He
recognized Jesus first, but did not jump in the
water like Peter. I think John’s comment that “they
were not far from land” is his excuse for not
acting like Peter. They did not delay very much,
and they were able to keep the fish.)
G. Read John 21:9-10. Jesus is already making
breakfast. Why? (He is meeting the physical needs
of the disciples.)
H. Read John 21:11. Why would Peter go back out to the
boat to haul in the fish? (This suggests they
needed his strength or skill.)
1. Why are we told the size and number of fish
caught? (This is a detail that lends
credibility to the account.)
I. Read John 21:12-13. How do you explain the comment
about no one asking about the identity of Jesus?
John has already identified Jesus. (Perhaps they
are still getting accustomed to Jesus being dead
and now alive. Perhaps Jesus has changed in certain
ways after returning to heaven.)
1. Other than the disciples being hungry, can you
think of any other reason Jesus had a fish fry
for them? Is there any teaching reason to do
it? (This goes back to the issue of whether
Jesus is resurrected. He is not a ghost. He
eats food just like a human.)
J. Read John 4:48. Is this why Jesus arranged this
huge catch – so they would believe it was Him?
II. Peter
A. Read John 21:15. This is what lawyers call a
“leading question.” The way the question is phrased
suggests an answer. What answer does Jesus suggest?
(If Peter just answered, “Yes,” he would claim that
he loved Jesus more than the other disciples.)
1. Peter just jumped out of the boat first to see
Jesus. We saw that he was needed to haul in
the net of fish. We recall that Peter
previously believed that he loved Jesus more
than the other disciples. Matthew 26:33. Has
Peter’s view of his superior love changed?
(Peter wisely restates Jesus’ question to
merely say that he loves Jesus.)
B. Read John 21:16. Is Jesus taunting Peter? Jesus
goes from reminding Peter that he used to claim
that he loved more, to now suggesting Peter does
not love Him at all!
C. Read John 21:17. How does Peter react to being
asked a third time about loving Jesus? Recall that
both prior times Peter told Jesus he loved Him.
(Peter is “grieved.” He is unhappy that Jesus does
not seem to trust his answer.)
1. Why did Jesus ask Peter three times? Was He
punishing Peter for his prior proud opinion
that he loved more? (Recall in John 13:38
Jesus correctly predicted that Peter would
deny Him three times.)
D. Notice that starting in John 21:15 Jesus three
times asks Peter to feed Jesus’ sheep and lambs.
What importance do you attach to this, if any?
(Jesus is reinstating Peter as a leader. The work
is to feed the sheep and Peter is worthy of the
work.)
1. We started out with Jesus’ post-resurrection
instructions. What has Peter been taught?
(Humility and forgiveness.)
III. Focus
A. Read John 21:18-19. This sounds like the prediction
for a lot of people who grow old. Is Jesus telling
Peter that he will grow very old? (No. Jesus is
telling Peter that he will be crucified.)
1. What does Jesus mean by saying, “Follow me?”
(Peter will follow Jesus to the cross.)
2. What is Jesus teaching Peter about his future
that is unlike his past? (Peter will remain
faithful to Jesus. He will die for Jesus, just
as Peter had previously promised.)
B. Read John 21:20-21. Why did Peter ask this
question? (Consider that John was the only disciple
who followed Jesus to the cross. Although Peter
formerly claimed to love Jesus more than the other
disciples, John is still calling himself “the
disciple whom Jesus loved.” My guess is that Peter
considers John a competitor for Jesus’ love and
wants to know how that will turn out for John.)
C. Read John 21:22. How would you put Jesus’ response
into today’s language? (Stay focused on yourself.
Stay in your lane. Don’t worry about the future of
John.)
1. Is that still good advice for us? Don’t fret
over the success of other Christians? (This is
an important lesson for everyone and a hard
lesson for me. I’ve always been a competitor.
The goal is to do better than others. The
Bible teaches personal excellence through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Focus on improving
your work for God.)
D. Read John 21:23. Is Jesus suggesting that He might
return during the lifetime of John? Why?
IV. Conclusion
A. Read John 21:24. Why does John say that we should
believe what he has written in his gospel? (He is
an honest man.)
1. What do you think about John based on studying
his gospel? (He is a good guy. I have mixed
feelings about him calling himself, “the
disciple Jesus loved.”)
B. Read John 21:25. John tells us that the good things
Jesus did are too many to record. What does that
suggest about what John recorded? (That he recorded
the most important things for us to know.)
C. Friend, we started the Gospel of John with the view
that John wanted to convince us that Jesus is God
come to earth. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah.
Are you convinced? Why not give your allegiance to
Jesus right now?
V. Next week: We start a new series on the nature of God’s
love. It is entitled, “God’s Love and Justice.”
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.